Drug Dealer Simulator 2 - Review
Byterunners are a game development team from Poland that specializes in 3D graphics, asset creation and sound development as well as designing PC and mobile games, to be honest it was a little hard finding much information at all about these guys and gals, even on their official website but I have been a huge fan of them ever since they released Drug Dealer Simulator back in 2020, which judging from the reviews on Steam a lot of other people also liked as well. So, when I heard that they were releasing a sequel to the original game I got more excited than a tweaker after his last hit of meth, so we got to cooking on a review.
Gone are the grimy and dark streets filled with brutalist architecture that served as the backdrop of the original game, Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is set on a fictional set of islands known as “Isla Sombra”, which is quite obviously South American inspired, judging by the architecture and accents featured in the game. The limited backstory served up by the game paints your character as a person with a shady past filled with bad choices that has made you an outlaw seeking revenge, it is with this history that your you gmail arrive on Isla Sombra ready to set up your own drug empire and all the riches and power that come with it.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 does have a story but it serves as a device that pushes you to go and explore in the game more than anything resembling a Hollywood blockbuster, there are basically different factions of gangs that run the islands of Isla Sombra and it is your job to gain trust with all of their leaders to further the advancement of your drug empire. Thankfully when you arrive in Isla Sombra you have access to a secret underground drug lab that comes with basic facilities allowing you to grow your own weed and bag it up for your clients. Pretty soon after arriving at your new drug dealer bunker haven your phone will start ringing with clients wanting to purchase some of your finest home-grown products from you. It is up to you to bag up the correct amount of product for your clients and then schedule a time for delivery, take too long to respond to them or fail to deliver to them and you run the risk of losing reputation in the corresponding region of Isla Sombra that the client is from.
Of course, drugs don’t come for free, both in the game and in real life, unfortunately. It is up to you to procure the necessary supplies needed to produce your less than legal products and you will need things such as fertiliser, water and various other chemical substances to keep your operation running smoothly. At first it will just be the good old Mary Jane you will be selling to your clients but as you are pushed to explore via the narrative you will start encountering clients who want meth, opium and even special orders in the form of edibles such as marijuana cookies. Keep your clients happy and your phone will keep ringing and the more your phone keeps ringing the more money you make. Reputation is the key mechanic at play here and the more you earn by servicing your clients the more you are pushed forward to explore other areas and meet the drug lords in the game. The game map is pretty big and it gets very tedious having to walk everywhere so thankfully there are various methods of travel that allow you to traverse Isla Sombra more efficiently, you have bus stops that act as fast travel points in the game however you need to purchase bus tickets to use these and you can only travel from and to bus stops on the same island, you have cars which your can’t drive but they acts as a sort of portable fast travel point which can be used to hop from island to island consuming fuel in the process and lastly there are boats that you can drive from island to island and dock at the many piers dotting the perimeter of islands, these also consume fuel.
It is next to impossible running a drug empire out of a small bunker so there are houses that dot the landscape that you can purchase and turn into drug labs, after parting with the purchase price these houses can be furnished as you please and kitted out with all of the equipment needed to produce enough illegal product to keep your clients happy.
Speaking of clients, as your empire grows, they will quickly become too much for you to service on your own and you will have to spend all day travelling from island to island servicing them so thankfully you can employ dealers that will handle your orders and deliver them to your clients as long as you keep them topped up with illegal products, they wont do this for free and will take a certain cut of your profits but this will leave you free to explore during the day and take care of any missions you might be sent on by the faction leaders in the game, later on as you progress further you can also hire workers to produce your product for you essentially automating the whole process. Of course you aren’t free to run meth labs all over the islands and run around slanging drugs to customers all day in Isla Sombra though it wont be the police trying to stop you it will be the military and various other thugs that roam the streets around the islands, get caught by these guys and you will end up serving time in jail or find yourself beaten up with all of your product and cash stolen, both the military and thugs are pretty easy to avoid though from what I have found, just make sure to keep your eyes peeled so you can avoid them when they approach, or even beat them up with a crowbar if you are that way inclined.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 wont set the world on fire when it comes to graphics or soundtrack but what is here is adequate for the type of game it is, the different islands are visually diverse enough to avoid becoming boring and while the sound is sparse and I suspect some of the voice acting may have been performed by AI it still sounds fairly good and avoids the usual jarring pitfalls that come with such dialogue generation. Isla Sombra is full of surprises, and you will be rewarded for taking the time to explore your surroundings. DDS2 doesn’t look as polished as AAA game but it doesn’t need to, the graphics aren’t the main draw card in these types of simulation games.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is not a game for everyone if you are a fan of these simulator style games that are full of busy work, staff management and grinding then you are going to have a ball here. I have spent over 25 hours in the game so far and I still feel compelled to pick up the game and further expand my drug empire and I don’t see that changing anytime soon as I still have a large number of items and even game mechanics to unlock. Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is a fun time waster created by an indie studio that knows how to create a satisfying game play loop that keeps bringing you back to the game, If you like simulation games or enjoyed the first game in the series than I highly recommend picking Drug Dealer Simulator 2 up, just don’t blame me if the authorities come knocking at your door.
The Score
7.0
Review code provided by Byterunners
The Pros
Addictive gameplay loop that keeps bringing you back for more.
Lots of unlockable game mechanics and different recipes to find.
Expanding and managing your empire is fun and addictive.
The Cons
There are quite a few bugs and I did experience a few crashes, the devs have pushed out a couple of patches though so they seem to be dedicated to fixing issues.
Tutorial is not very comprehensive and the in-game instructions can be confusing which leads to frustration when trying to learn some of the games mechanics.
